The Seventh Sister by Z L Arkadie

Author:Z L Arkadie
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-08-08T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

The Selell

When I get home and walk through the front door, I half way expect to discover Deanna here, but nope, she’s still away. I go into the kitchen to see if there’s a message on the machine, there are two.

I have to stop off in Manhattan. I’ll see you soon. It’s Deanna.

I shake my head, disappointed. At what point should I dig deep within myself and confess that I miss my mother. My eyes tear up and since there’s no one around, I allow them to fall.

After swiping the tears from my cheek, I check the next message. There’s nothing but static. I delete the second message and save the first.

The machine tells me that’s the twentieth saved message and warns me to clear the box because it’s reaching the limit. That’s three years of saved messages from my mother, and I’m still reluctant to delete them. I guess I’m waiting until I reach the limit, wondering if I’ll ever reach the max.

The next big thing I have to do is strip out of the outfit I’m wearing. After kicking off the ankle boots, I ceremoniously peel off the jeans and sweater and throw on the first pair of pajama bottoms I dig out of the drawer and an old faded gray tee-shirt. Gosh, that feels freeing.

I then prance off, heading back into the kitchen to mix up a salad. After pouring myself a glass of water, I take my dinner into the living room where I curl up against the arm of the sofa to eat and read The Great Gatsby.

The hours tick away and by the time I reach page two hundred it’s midnight. Unfortunately, tomorrow’s there’s more school. I don’t know how long I can keep showing up there, going through the rigmarole of it.

At first I’m lying in bed like usual, staring at the ceiling, abhorring the next morning even before it starts. At some point I close my eyes, maybe an hour later. Then my entire body turns real warm and though I’m unconscious, I’m sure there’s something or someone near me. My eyes pop open and blink to find focus. I know for sure that I just saw a white face looking over me, but now it’s, or he, is gone.

I leap out of bed. Whoever it was moves fast, but I can too.

Our house is built in a square surrounding an outside patio that has a sliding glass, heat activated rooftop, which melts snow during the winter. I’ve learned to keep it closed all season long.

“Hey,” I shout while racing down one hallway before hitting the curve and zooming down the next, where I can see him standing in the patio, between the cushiony outdoor furniture circling the fire pit. His head hangs in surrender, arms limp at his sides. My feet stay cautious as I walk through the opened sliding glass door. I look up. The ceiling is opened.

“Hey,” I say, this time much quieter.

I’m looking at his backside. It’s extra dark tonight because the stars and moon are covered by snow clouds.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.